There’s a lot to be said, and that has been said, about the value of social media in education. I am the first to extoll the virtues of Twitter for a PLN – as I have blogged before. There are lots of great examples of how teachers have been using Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest etc with their students but for some reason, or reasons, I can’t do it.  I asked my self ‘why’?

And then it crystalized for me when talking to a colleague about why I use Twitter for my PLN. Social media use in class requires that both myself and my students understand the parameters of use. I know that I understand what a ‘digital footprint ‘ is, when to report spam, and  what an appropriate post is.  Before I ‘jump in’ with my students I will have to be comfortable with the answers to a couple of questions.

What is the level of personal social media maturity they possess? It has taken a long time for kids to begin to understand that “once they post – its permanent”. Much has been written the definition of  a social media ‘friend’ or even ‘follower’ – are students able to critically  understand the difference?  We can talk a lot about that with them but  having asked kids to join social media for class purposes – I have no role in supervision or support outside of class.

Would I, as a parent, be comfortable with my child being asked to join social media sites for class purposes? I don’t know. For many parents, with a strong relationship with their children, clear boundaries and expectations around internet use this might not be an issue. However this is not the case for all my students – and putting a vulnerable student in that position is something I can’t do.

Is any student placed at a disadvantage? – Social media has certainly been used to expand the range of activities, discussions etc in class. However my school internet access is varied, and so, at least during school,  smart phones would be the way. Surprisingly, or not, about 25% of my students don’t have them. Am I then making kids feel ‘left out’ or ‘not cool’ because of this?

Thankfully, there are secure programs out there, like Edmodo,  that allow my classes to interact and exchange points of view. And I hope that, through my PLN, and my journey with social media I will find answers to these questions…

Colleen